Group aims to mend gateway cities’

Tuesday

Like a house in disrepair, there is recognition the “gateway cities” of Fall River and New Bedford need a little fixing up.

Like a house in disrepair, there is recognition the “gateway cities” of Fall River and New Bedford need a little fixing up.

While many are aware of such a scenario, the idea was solidified in a report released in February by Mass Inc., a Cambridge-based think tank, that confirmed the commonwealth’s “gateway cities” had been forgotten in favor of the greater Boston area.

With the issue identified, a wide-ranging group from the public and private sectors joined together Monday morning at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center to begin the process of reversing the trend and creating a commonwealth that spreads the wealth.

Speakers, who included politicians such as the mayors of Fall River and New Bedford and their U.S. representatives as well as economic development leaders for the two cities and the state, offered their insight on what needs to be done to turn around urban centers that have seen jobs lost in a variety of ways over the past 20 years.

Some talked of the need to better market the region and all it offers, while others noted that until education attainment levels are improved, businesses may continue to snub southeastern Massachusetts’ cities.

Many times the answer to solving the problems was followed by a call for a more equitable system of funding from Beacon Hill down to the cities.

And U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., noted that fixing the problems faced by the “gateway cities” will take continued conversation among leaders.

“To fix these problems we have to realize there’s not just a transportation problem or not just an education problem,” McGovern said. “We all need to come to the table.”

During one panel discussion, Robert Culver, president and CEO of Mass Development, noted that vocational schools are still teaching a curriculum that provides skills for “the old mills” instead of the burgeoning “knowledge industries” that cities are seeking to attract.

The lack of skills appropriate to fill the jobs that companies bring is a problem recently felt in Fall River.

Office of Economic Development Executive Vice President Kenneth Fiola Jr. relayed a story of a company seeking to locate in the planned executive park for the Fall River-Freetown border.

The city could offer inexpensive services, from water to land, but once the company — identified by Fiola as Project Magellan — began looking into Fall River’s current technology levels and educational rates, its interest in the city waned.

“The city didn’t have the work force needed to meet the needs of the company,” Fiola said. “The days of a strong back and a weak mind are far gone.”

Providing education to develop the work force for emerging companies is not the only area that is lacking.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., noted that despite a desperate need for nurses, a lack of funding allows places such as Bristol Community College to only offer a limited number of spots in its program.

“And the nice thing about nursing is that it’s not going to be outsourced,” Frank added.
While some companies are at least looking into urban areas for future locations, some speakers said the “gateway cities” need to do more to let businesses know they are available.

“We have to not be afraid to have a strategy in place to market,” Culver said. “Again and again, the ‘No one asked us’ is a big consideration” for companies looking to relocate.

But local businessman James Karam said in a later discussion that cities such as Fall River and New Bedford have made marketing appeals, but in the end a lack of educational attainment proves to be the deciding factor.

“The only difference (between here and Greater Boston) is educational attainment,” Karam said. “The state has to consistently put money into education. What we need help with is funding for higher ed and K to 12.”

As ideas were floated to make improvements, there was also recognition that more needs to be done.

“This is really only one day in a continuous effort to get where we want to be,” Lambert said.

E-mail Will Richmond of The Herald News (Fall River, Mass.) at wrichmond@heraldnews.com.

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